New Business Innovation Exchange being set-up

The University is setting up a new Business Innovation Exchange (BIE) to support our nine Institutes for Research and Innovation.
 
This is being funded by a £905,000 Scottish Government SEEKIT grant which is being matched with a European Regional Development Fund grant.
 
The BIE will help increase the University’s commercial income and surplus and aid the Scottish Government’s drive for increased innovation across Scotland’s Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs).  
 
The BIE is a collaborative partnership with Queen Margaret and St Andrews universities led by Dr Brendan McGuckin, Edinburgh Napier’s Director of Knowledge Transfer and Commercialisation. The project uniquely blends the expertise of modern and ancient institutions to provide SMEs with easier access to academic know-how, facilities and intellectual property.
 
The BIE will build on the success of the 2kt and 2kt+ projects between Edinburgh Napier and Queen Margaret universities and also six college partners in the case of the 2kt+ project.
 
The project will provide seven new Business Development Executives - five of whom will be based at Edinburgh Napier supporting the Institutes with one each at Queen Margaret and St Andrews.
 
There is also dedicated administrative and marketing support together with three Innovation Managers who will work alongside the BDEs to provide a central support service to the Institutes and business clients.
 
The grant holder, Dr Brendan McGuckin, said: “It is well recognised that Scotland’s businesses fail to capitalise on the intellectual know-how and assets held in academia. Consistent with closer working between the tertiary sector and business, the BIE is focused on making the skills of our Institutes available to business in a fast, responsive and economical way.”
 
From the Scottish Government’s perspective, the ultimate aim of the BIE is to assist SMEs  in the development and improvement of products, processes and services; increasing business competitiveness and creating new jobs for the Scottish economy.